Sealing means for fluid valves



De; 8, 1953 R. c. BARKELEW 2,661,925

SEALING MEANS FOR FLU-ID VALVES I Original Filed Feb 28, 1,948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I 50 62 9 32a, M 52 63 Z I& 3 REY/H190 c. Bale/r64 514/ INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY 1% K Zr Dec; 8, 953 R. c. BARKELEW 2,661,925

. SEALING MEANS FOR FLUID VALVES Original Filed Feb. 28, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W 7/ 1mm". I H

k/c/m/w c: a e/(515w INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED sures Or i l pp cation Februajrv 2.8. 194.8, s ns1..1-1 12 3 I P 'i itfN 50 fifii y at 28', 1950. Divided and' this p 11 24; 1950, Serial No. 151,779

, .(il i ii. (c1.

The present invention relates tofluid-valves. and more particularly to fluid sealing means in fluid valves. The invention is illustratively embodied in a mixing valvehaving means for regulating the relative proportions of fluids delivered through two inlet -supply pipes, and for control: ling the total volume of fluid dischargedthrough an outlet pipe. Specifically the present invention has to do with improved fluid sealing means in a mixing valve embodying a valve'member which is rotatable with respect to two angularly spaced inlet ports inthe housing to control the mixture proportions, and which is movable axis ally. with respect to both the inlet ports and the: outlet ports to control the'volume of mixed fluids discharged throught-he latter. The present an;- plication is a division of my copending application entitled Fluid-Mixture and Volume Control Valve, filed February 28, 1948, Serial No. 12,0,(13, now Patent No.'2,5 0l,6.57, issued March 28, 1959,

the valve, taken along: the line. +14 Figure and showingzthe valveinthe openl condition;

Eigure'5 is a viewlsiniilar. to FigureA, showing-1'- Figure 8; is. an enlargedxfragmentary view offaportion ;of Figure 4;but with the valve in sealing With prior valves in which a valve member carrying a washer rotates as it closes, there-is a wear problem as a result of the scouring actionof" the washer on its seat. This problemis somel-i times overcome by using freely rotatable ball bearing washers or the like, but such washers are expensive and a frequent source oftroubles A' primary object of the present invention is the provision of a valve having a simple fluid sealing meanswhich'is not' subject to the wear problem ofthe simple washer type, nor'as. ex.-. pensive as the ball bearing type. I

In the present invention, a valve isprovided having accurate straight line travel within the valve chamber, making it possible to employgan caring seal in place of the conventional washer. This 0,-ring seal is adapted to enter the end of an axially disposed outlet port, cooperating with the-side walls thereof to close the'port. Thain? vention also provides a construction permitting ready substitution of a simple flat rubber sealing washer for the preferred O-ringseal, in, the event an .O-ring should 'notlbe available at-the time the valve is serviced.

The foregoing and other objects and advane tages of the invention will becomeapnarent to thosei es n h ar upon cons dera ion of the following detailed description of the preferred em o ments thereo e e en e bein zha vto th a mpany n draw s. i w ch: 7

Fi u e 1 s n ele a i ew oi a va ve em hodvi e he pr nci les of e n ion;

Fi ure 2 is atop pla view o th same;

Eisu e B isenlar ed sect onal .view; taken along he line +3 in Fi ure si ii ure 9i is-anenlarged vertieals ctiont iwefi position. v Mixture and control valves. of the type-with which the present invention is v concerned, are. adapted for usein'any'situation requiring changes. in the mixture proportions of two incoming fluids without appreciable variation of tthe total output. volume, or changes in the volume without appre: ciable change in'the mixture proportion. The principal. use of such valves, however, is; in shower installationwherein hot and cold Water are mixed in proper proportions to give the de:

sired temperature," and where it is desirable to."

be able to increase or decrease thetotal volume, of waterbeing; discharged, 'or'to turn the water oif entirely without disturbing the I mixture. pros;

portions; Accordingly, the. embodiment.v selected.

to illustrate the principles of the invention is'one.

designed."primarily-for shower installations, but. it is to' be '"understood that the inventiontis in no.

way limitedsolely'to such'use, andmight be used to' equal advantage: in many; industrial applica.-'

Mona

In. the draw ngs, the valve is designated in its entiretytbyv the reference numeral I0, and is seen to comprise a generally cylindrical body l.l,,prefs erablyqof brass'; having azcylindrical chamber. it formed therein; Inasmuch as the Idrawings show.-

the-valve maverticai'position, the following dei.-.

illustrative drawings. ber I2 is open, while the bottomend thereof-is designated air-13, and-is formedwith a. central,

axially extendinequtlet port lighavingfa raised annular seatliarounditsmarginl Intersecting the chamber [that a short distance; abovethebottom I 3;are two diametrically opposed.

inletportslfi and-1:1 which open into. oppositely xtendingcoupling bosses 20. and 21', respectively; Thev hosses 2.0 and 21'areexternallyzthreaded star,

o the v ve- Eiiemrtletnor 1.4 ens a its D915:

tom end into a passageway 23 which curves upwardly and forwardly therefrom and opens into a forwardly extending coupling boss 24 that is threaded at 25 to receive a coupling member for connecting the valve to a discharge pipe.

Slidably' disposed within the" bottom'portion of the chamber 52 and also rotatable-therein, is a cylindrical valve member 26 which is preferably, although not necessarily, formed of stainless steel. A shallow circular recess 30 is machined in the bottom end of the member 26, and seated within this recess is a rubber washer 3| which is secured by a screw 32, this washer being somewhat thinner than the depth of the recess 30. Surrounding the screw 32 near its head is a member 4| which is rotatably disposed within thin-walled spacer sleeve 32a, and disposed within the annular space between the screw head and the washer is an O-ring 32b. The O-ring is'very slightly larger in outsidediameter than the diameter'of the outlet port [4, and is therefore squeezed slightly when pushed down into the same forming a water tight seal. The sleeve 32a in' engagement with the rubber washer 3| seals against leakage of water inside the -ring along the threads of the screw. Finally, the washer 3| may engage the seat at the end of the stroke of the valve to effect a further seal at that point, which further seal is a safeguard against leakage in the event the O-ring should ultimately fail. It shouldbe evident that the successful use of the O-ring is made possible by the accurate straight line movement of the valve member in the valve chamber. in other words, the construction avoids wobble of the valve member, such as would cause the O-ring to press more tightl against one side of the outlet pas sage it than the other, and so encourage leakage.

Formedin the sides of the valve member 26 at the bottom end thereof are passage means which cooperate with the inlet ports I6, I? to control the flow of fluid. entering the chamber l2. These passage means are illustratively shown as comprising two angularly spaced flats 33 and 34 which are milled into the cylindrical surface of the valve member 26; although the invention is not in anyway. limited to flats, but also contemplates the use of curved surfaces or channels that are developed to give more accurate con trol; The flats 33, 34 are spaced slightly more than 90 apart so that when the member 26 is turned counterclockwise, or to the left (Figure 6) as far as it will go, inlet port [6 is completely uncovered by flat 33, while port I! is completely closed ofi by the valve member. Similar- 1y, when the valve member 26 is turned to the right as far as it will go, port if is completely uncovered by flat 34, while port 56 is completely closed off by valve member. When the valve member is positioned so that the flats 33, 34, uncover ports l6 and 1'! equally, as shown in Figure 6, the volume of flowv from each side is equal.

At the top edge of each of the flats 33, 34 is a shoulder 35 which is adapted to cut off the inlet ports [6, ll, when the valve member 26 is moved downwardly to the bottom of the chamber I2. The shoulders 35 close the ports I6, I! just before the washer 3i closes against the seat l5, and the inlet ports are thus closed off from one another when the valve is closed, so that bypass of water from one inlet to the other is positively prevented.

The upper portion of the cylindrical valve member 26 has an'ann'ular groove 36 formed either extreme position of the latter.

the top portion of the chamber. The bottom end 'of'the tube 4i has two diametrically opposed, axially extending slots 42 formed therein which receive a companionate tongue 43 projecting upwardly fromthe top end of the valve member 26, and this tongue and slot connection between them causes the valve member to be rotatedwith the tube 4!. At the same time, the valve member is permitted to move axially with respect to the tube 4| tov the extent of the length of engagementof theitongues43 within .the slots The tube 4| projects above the top end of, the valve body I, and fixedly secured to the projecting end thereof is a mixture control handle .45. The handle 45 is preferably, although not necessarily, in th form of a transversely extending, elongated bar, which may be made of plastic or other suitable material, with a sheet metal sleeve 43 surrounding its midportion. Flats 5G and 5| are milled into opposite sides .of the-projecting end of the tube 4|, and the handle bar 45 and sleeve 45 have correspondingly shaped holes 52 formed therein which receive the flat-sided portion of the tube, providing 'a non-rotatable connection between the handle and the tube. The top end portion of the tube projecting above the handle bar 45 is threaded at 53, and a nut 54 is screwed onto the threads to clamp the handle bar down tightly against shoulder 55 at the bottom edge of the flats 50, 5|.

The tube 4| is held against axial movement within the chamber I2 and is also limited to'an angular travel of slightly more than 90, by means of a limit stop'bolt 53 which is screwed into a threaded hole 69 formed in a boss 6| projecting laterally from one side of the valve body I! at the top end thereof. The threads are relieved from the inner end of the bolt 36, forming a smooth-sided nose 62 which extends into a circumferentially extending slot 63 in the side of the tube 4|. The length of the'slot 63 is such that its ends are engaged by the nose 62 when the tube and valve member 26 are turned to A look washer 64 prevents the bolt 56 from working loose.

On the opposite side of the valve body i from boss 6| is anotherlaterally projecting'boss 65 having a threaded hole 66 provided therein which receives a screwit. The inner end of the screw 10 bears against a plug of fibrous material69, pressing the same against the surface of the tube 4|. The plug of material 63 functions as'a-friction brake for the tube 4! and restrains the lat ter against'turning when the volume control handle is turned. The degree of frictional restraint can be increased or decreased by tightening or loosening the screw '50.

Axial movement of the valve member 26 to regulate the volume'of flow is obtained by means formed thereon, and this threaded portion is re ceived within athreaded hole 13" in the valve member 26. The upper portion of the stem H has a right hand thread 14 formed thereon, which is engaged by internal threads 15 formed in the upper end of the hole 68.

The stem H projects beyond the top end of the tube 4!, and its upper end is serrated, or splined at 16 to receive a volume control handle 89. The volume control handle 80 is coaxial with the mixture control handle 45 and is spaced outwardly therefrom. A screw 8| which is threaded into a tapped hole in the top end of the stem 1| holds the handle 80 on the stem.

In the usual installation, the bottom portion of the valve body I l is located within the bathroom wall, with the top portion projecting through a hole in the wall. Both the valve body H and the hole in the wall are preferably concealed by an ornamental, cup-shaped bonnet 85 which is secured to the valve body by a pair of countersink screws 86 threaded into tapped holes in the top surface of the bosses BI and 65.

The operation of my valve is believed to be selfevident from the foregoing description. The mixture proportions of the incoming hot and cold water (designated by the arrows H and C) is re ulated by turning the mixture control handle 45 to one side or the other from the straight up and down position shown in solid lines in Figure 2. When the handle is turned to the left as far as it will o, the cold water port I6 is completely uncovered by the flat 33, while the hot water port I! is entirely closed off. When the handle 45 is turned to the right as far as it will go, the hot water port I! is uncovered by the flat 34, and the cold water port It is closed ofi. In the intermediate position, the two ports are equally exposed, and one-half the total volume of water passing through the valve enters through the cold water port. l6, while the other half enters through the hot water port I1. With the mixture control handle 45 positioned at any desired setting, the volume of flow is regulated by turning the volume control handle 80. When the handle 80 is turned to the right, or clockwise, the right hand threads 14 cause the stem H to move downwardly with respect to the tubular member 4|, while the left hand threads 12 cause the valve member 26 to move downwardly with respect to the stem 1|. Thus, the travel of the valve member 26 is equal to the sum of the movements imparted to it by the right hand threads 14 and the left hand threads 12. The advantage of this arrangement is that the valve member 26 is advanced twice as fast as it would be if there were only one set of threads of the same pitch. Since the upper part of the valve chamber 12 is sealed off from the bottom portion thereof by the O-ring seal 40, the threads 12 and 74 can be packed with grease for permanent lubrication.

The advantage of the O-ring over the conventional flat washer is that the former seals with effortless ease, whereas the flat washer must be clamped tightly against its seat. Furthermore, if the washer is not closed absolutely water-tight, the leakage of water over the metallic seat causes erosion of the latter, which can be corrected only by grinding or refacing the seat. The O-ring forms a positive, absolutely leak-proof seal, and is therefore not subject to erosion. The present invention is particularly adapted to the use of O-ring seals, because of the fact that the valve member 26 moves in a straight-line path, without any rotation, and because the valve member is accurately guided within the chamber I 2.

An important feature of the instant invention.

however, is that the valve and outlet passage are so formed as to permit the substitution of an ordinary type of fiat rubber washer for the O-ring assembly in the event that O-rings should not be available, for example, when the valve is serviced. Thus Figure 5 shows how a somewhat larger and thicker rubber washer 300 can be substituted for washer 30, with the O-ring and spacer sleeve eliminated. The washer 30c engages against the seat l5 to efi'ect the seal. Because of the straight line travel of the valve member in moving the valve against its seat, without .any rotational movement, the washer closes with its seat without rubbing or scouring against the seat, and hence is free from the excessive wear that such washers usually experience.

While I have shown and described in considerable detail what I believe to be the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that such details are merely illustrative, and that various changes may be made in the shape and arrangement of the several parts thereof without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claim.

Iclaim:

A fluid valve comprising a body having a cylindrical chamber formed therein, a liquid port opening into the side of said chamber, a cylindrical liquid port opening into one end of said chamber axially of said chamber, said cylindrical liquid port being of lesser diameter than said chamber, to afford an annular shoulder at its juncture with said chamber, a raised valve seat on said shoulder aroundsaid cylindrical liquid port, a cylindrical valve disposed within said chamber constrained to move axially and nonrotatably therein, a, recess of greater diameter than said seat sunk in the end of said valve member coaxially with said valve member, in such manner that said valve member can bottom on said shoulder with said raised seat received in said recess, a washer received in said recess, said washer overlying said raised seat, and being of lesser thickness than the depth of said recess. but of sumcient thickness to engage said raised seat when said valve is bottomed on said shoulder, an axially disposed screw carried by and projecting from the recessed end of said valve, a spacer sleeve around said screw between the head of the screw and said washer, and an O-ring around said spacer sleeve between said screw head and said washer, said O-ring being adapted to seatingly engage the cylindrical wall surfaces of said cylindrical port when said valve is moved to advance said screw and O-ring into said cylindrical port.

RICHARD C. BARKELEW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,510,528 Sebenste Oct. 7, 1924 1,537,948 Katzin Mar. 19, 1925 1,667,580 Albrecht Apr. 24, 1928 2,124,155 Thaete July 19, 1938 2,277,251 Palmer Mar. 24, 1942 2,360,733 Smith Oct. 17, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 809 Great Britain of 1914 9,164 Great Britain of 1915 40,549 Germany of 1887 486,318 Germany or 1929 

